Endless belt grader



June 21, 1949. a w, HATCH 2,474,051

ENDLESS BELT GRADER Filed April 29, 1946 INVEN TOR. BERNJS WHQ rcu '55dzzom Patented June 21, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ENDLESS BELTGRADER Bernis W. Hatch, Atlanta, N. Y.

Application April 29, 1946, Serial No. 665,709

4 Claims.

This invention relates to belts made of a series of pivotclly connectedbent wire strands or links shaped to provide openings between the linksof predetermined size, for retaining vegetables, fruits or like articlesof larger size, while permitting such articles of smaller size to dropthrough the openings and thus separate or grade the articles accordingto size, such belts being disclosed, for example, in the prior patentsto Boggs, No. 1,032,375, and Ghent, No. 1,899,437.

In such prior belts the wire strands or links have been in the shapesubstantially of flattened spirals so that the coils of each link can belooped through the coils of adjacent links by rotating each link and sothreading it through the loops of an adjacent link. In thisconstruction, however, each link has the shape of a spiral of the samehand, either right or left, from one margin of the belt to the other,with the result that the lower portions of the coils of each link havebeen alined with the similar portions of adjacent links obliquely acrossthe width of the belt, thus forming alined depressions or valleys whichhave tended to direct the products fed to the belt toward one sidethereof so as to interfere with the uniform distribution of the articlesover the belt surface as desired for most uniform and efficient sizingoperations.

One obiect of the present invention is to provide a belt of the abovecharacter having an improved construction and mode of operation forovercoming the above described defect.

Another object is to provide an improved grader belt so constructed asto gradually direct the articles to be graded. away from both marginsand toward the center of the belt, so as to maintain a more evendistribution of the articles for more efficient sorting action of thebelt thereon.

To these and other ends the invention resides in certa n improvementsand combinations of parts. all as will be hereinafter more fullydescribed, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the endof the specification.

In the drawings:

1 is a side elevation of a simple form of grading machine having agrader belt embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is enlarged plan view, partly broken away, of a link beltembodying the present invention;

3 is an enlarged, fragmentary detail of a portion of the belt shown inFig. 2, and

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but showing a slightly modifiedform.

The present invention provides an endless wire link belt indicatedgenerally at H] (Fig. 1), for passing around angular rolls, as H, of agrading machine, one of such rolls being preferably provided with a handcrank or power means (not shown) for rotating it to drive the belt. Thepotatoes or other articles to be graded are fed through a hopper 12 ontothe flat upper reach l3 of the belt, the articles of smaller sizedropping through the belt openings to suitable collecting and dischargemeans (not shown) and the larger articles being delivered through adischarge chute l4 into a bag or other receptacle l5. Such gradingmachines, one of which is disclosed in the above Patent No. 1,032,375,are well known in the art and form no part of the present invention.

In the preferred embodiment herein disclosed by way of illustration,each link It is made of a. length of relatively stiff wire bent into theshape, substantially, of a flattened spiral adapted to have its coilspivotally looped through the coils of an adjacent strand by rotating thelink and so threading it through the coils of the adjacent link. Thuslink I6 (Fig. 2) has its coil l1 passing over, around and under the coilI8 of an adjacent link and thence looped through the coil portion l9 ofthe link on its opposite side and thence again looped over, around andunder the coil portion 20 of the first link and so on. By means of thisconstruction the adjacent links are pivotally interlooped with eachother and the coils form with adjacent links a series of openings 2!, ofpredetermined size, through which articles of smaller size are allowedto drop so as to separate them from the larger articles retained on thebelt. It will be noted that the interlooped coil portions H are arrangedsubstantially in planes normal to the general surface of the belt Whilethe interlooped coil portions 23 have a substantially semicircularcurvature lying substantially in the plane of the belt and that thearticle receiving openings 2! have substantially equal widthlongitudinally and transversely of the belt so as to permit the passagetherethrough of articles whose maximum diameter is less than that of thewidth of the opening. By means of this construction, furthermore, thewire has a shape into which it may be readily bent on a machine such asdisclosed in said Patent No. 1,899,437, and then assembled with otherlinks by rotating and threading the coils of one through those ofanother as described.

It will be seen in the above construction that the lower portions, as22, 23 and 24, of the coils of successive links tend to form a series ofdepressions, channels or valleys, alined obliquely inwardly andrearwardly of the direction of travel of the belt, as indicated by thearrow 25. If the spiral shape of each link is allowed to extenduniformly from one margin to the other of the belt, as in the prior artbelts, the articles fed to and rolling on the surface of the moving belttend to follow such valleys so as to be moved toward and fall off oneside of the belt or to collect at one side and thus interfere withuniform distribution over the belt and efificierrt sorting actions Ithas been proposed to overcome this difficulty in various ways, as byproviding a retaining flange along the side of the belt to prevent thearticles from dropping oil, but such provisions have provided onlypartial remedies without affording a satisfactory solution of thedifficulty. r

I have found that this defect may be satisfactorily overcome by formingeach link of at least two sections, 26 and 21, alined with eachothertransversely of the belt and having their coils arranged in spirals ofopposite hand, respectively. Thus, section 26 is in the form,substantially, of a left hand spiral, while section 21 is in the form ofa right hand spiraLwith the result that the coils of the sections areisoarranged that the valleys extend from both margins of the belt obliquelyinwardly and rearwardly of the direction of travel of the belt. asindicated by the arrows, 28 and 29, respectively. .By means of such anarrangement the articles are gradually directedaway from both marginsand toward the center of the belt, where any excessive concentration orcrowding of the. articles is self-correctingi-by outward rolling of thearticles was to maintain, by thesecounteracting tendencies, a fairlyuniform distribution of the articles and efflcient'gradingaction of thebelt. Fig. 3 shows-on an enlarged scale the overlapping arrangement ofthe inner endsof a pair of links 26 and .21, the end 3| of link 26 beingcrossed under the end 30 of link 21.": Fig. 4 shows an alternativearrangement in which the-link 26 has the same constructionbutan alinedlink 33 has its end 34 crossed under the end 3| oflinkZG.

Asin the case of the prior art belt, the links are readily formed bymachines such as disclosed in said Patent No. 1,899,437, arranged toform spirals of right and left hand'shape, respectively, and thespiraliink sections'are easily and quickly turned and 'threaded intolooping engagement with adjacent spiral sections of like hand,respectively, in an adjacent link, so that the belt may be economicallymanufactured andassembledas before.

It will thus be seen that the invention accomplishes its objects andwhile it has been herein disclosed by referencetothe details of apreferred embodiment, it is to beunderstood that such disclosure isintended in an-illustrative, rather than a limiting sense, as'it iscontemplated that various modifications in the. construction andarrangement'of the parts wili readily occur to those skilled in the art,within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A belt for grading fruit and vegetable products and like'artic'lesaccording to size comprising a series of transversely extending wirelinks each havingpivotal engagement with adjacent links at transverselyspaced. points and being shaped to provide'article receiving openingstherebetween intermediate said points of engagement, said openingshaving substantially equal Width longitudinally'and transversely of the"belt and said links being shaped to provide a series of valleys spacedlongitudinally of "said belt and inclined obliquely inwardly andrearwardly of the direction of travel of the belt, from both marginstoward the center thereof, to distribute the movement of the articlesfed onto said belt from the margins toward the center thereof.

2. A belt for grading fruit and vegetable products and like articlesaccording to size, comprising a series of transversely extending wirelinks each being coiled in substantially spiral shape with its coilslooped pivotally through the coils of adjacent links and providingarticle receiving openings therebetween, said openings havingsubstantially equal width longitudinally and transversely of the beltand having opposite sides extending substantially parallel with thelongitudinal extent of the belt and the coils of successive links beingarranged in echelon to provide a series of valleys inclined obliquelyinwardly and rearwardly of the direction of travel of the belt, fromboth margins toward the center thereof, to distribute the movement ofthe articles fed onto said belt from the margins toward the centerthereof.

3. A belt for grading fruit and vegetable prodnets and like articlesaccording to size comprising a series of longitudinally spaced,transversely extending wire links pivotally connected with each other,each of said links comprising a plurality of transversely alinedsections each having coils of substantially flat, spiral shape, thecoils of adjacent sections in each link having right and left handspiral shapes, respectively, said coils being looped through the coilsof sections of adjacent links and shaped to provide article receivingopenings therebetween, said openings having equal width longitudinallyand transversely of the belt and having opposite sides extendingsubstantially parallel with the longitudinal extent of the belt and saidcoils having depressed portions forming valleys extending obliquelyinwardly and rear- .Wardly of the direction of travel of the belt. from.ucts and like articles according to size comprising a seriesoflongitudinally spaced, transversely extending wire links pivotallyconnected with each other, each of said links comprising a plurality oftransversely alined sections each having coils of substantially fiat,spiral shape, the coils of adjacent sections in each link having rightand left hand spiral shapes, respectively, said coils being loopedthrough the coils of sections of adjacent links and shaped to providearticle receiving openings therebetween, said openings havingsubstantially equal width longitudinally and transverselyrof the beltand having opposite sides extending substantially parallel with thelongitudinal extent of the belt, said interlooped coil portions alongoneside of each link section being arranged-in planes substantially normalto the general plane of the. belt and the interlooped coil portionsalong the other side of each link section having substantiallysemi-circular curvature lying substantially in the general plane of thebelt and said coils having depressed portions forming valleys extendingobliquely inwardly and rearwardly of the directions of travel of thebelt, from both margins toward the center thereof, to distribute themovement of articles fed onto said belt from the margins toward thecenter thereof.

BERNIS W. HATCH.

(References on following page) REFERENCES CITED Number Name Date TheIollawing referenlees are of record in the 1'072192 syler Sept' 3 m of tt 1,468,301 nogter p 1 1,773,426 Halss Aug. 19, 1930 UNITED STATESPATENTS 5 1,816,560 Anderson July 28, 1931 Number Name Date 1,939,121Kent et a1 Dec. 12, 1933 693 026 Jessup 11 1992 1,942,117 Norris 1934112 212 s m Oct 2 1902 2,362,311 t a d V- 4

